Cutter for paper tubes



l..l L. SEYMOUR CUTTER FOR PAPER TUBES Filed May 9, 1955 Aug. 11, 1936.

Patented Aug. 1l, 1936 STAT CUTTER FOR PAPER TUBES Lynn L. Seymour, Kansas City, Mo., assignor to The National Manufacturing Co., Kansas City, Mc., a corporation of Missouri Application May 9, 1935, Serial No. 20,674

6 Claims.

My invention relates to cutters for paper tubes.

Paper milk bottle caps are packed in paper tubes for use by the larger dairies in their milk bottling and capping equipment. The caps are retained in place in'the tube by crimping the tube inwardly at the end, forming a shoulder on which the caps rest. To remove the crimped end of said tube it is necessary to use a sharp knife. Very frequently the cut made is so ragged that the caps will not pass out freely into the magazine of the capping head.

The object of this invention is to provide a special cutter, by means of which the end of the tube may be removed easily and quickly, making a clean out and in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tube.

In the accompanying drawing two embodiments of the invention have been illustrated.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one form of equipment embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view with certain parts removed;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of one of the plates for clamping the razor blades in place;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a razor blade;

Fig. 7 is a top plan View of a modified form of the device, on a slightly larger scale;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation thereof; and

Fig. 9 is an end elevation thereof.

The rst form of the device, illustrated in Figs. 1 6 inclusive, comprises a casting I0 which may be made of aluminum, for example, and which has an adjacent plate or base II, secured by screws I2, I3, or other suitable fastening devices, to a wall, partition, or other upright support I4. When fastened in this position, which is the most convenient one, said base is vertical.

A semi-cylindrical extension I5 projects sub` stantially at right angles from the plate II and is spaced therefrom except at the bottom, as shown in Fig. 2, where the two are united by a tapering flange, web or reinforcement I6. This extension, being open on one side, forms a channel or trough of a size to receive the paper tube hereinafter described, and as shown, is in horizontal position with its open side uppermost.

The channel member I5 has a pair of lateral flanges or wings Il near the end by which it is supported, which may be called its rear end. Each wing has a hole I3 therethrough to receive a screw I9, which latter secures the blade. holder 20 in place, being received in a screw threaded improvements in -opening 2I therein. The blade holder is in the form of a rectangular steel plate about the size of or slightly larger than the thin iiexible blade of an ordinary safety razor. This holder has a pair of additional holes 22 therein which 5 1t over pins 23 projecting from the wings i?, in which they have a tight fit. These pins are spaced to t the openings in ordinary safety razor blades such as 24, shown in Fig. 6 and elsewhere. The pins may project from the holder 10 20, being mounted thereon instead of on the wings I'i, if desired, in which case they pass through the openings in the razor blade and are received in the outer two of the three openings in each of the wings il. Each blade is clamped immovably in place, with one exposed edge projecting into the area representing the cross section of the trough, as shown in Fig. 1, In other words, said blades partially overlie the inner open end of the trough with their edges spaced apart a distance less than the diameter or width of said trough and said two exposed edges diverge upwardly, as also shown in said figure.

The upper part of the supporting plate II has a recess 25 with an inclined wall, as shown in Fig. 2.

The paper tube 26, containing the paper milk bottle caps 2'I and having its end crimped inwardly at 28, may be positioned somewhat above the channel, with the rear end against the vertical plate or stop I I, and pushed sidcwise, i. e. downwardly against the exposed inclined edges of the two blades, whereby'an incision is made on each side of said tube, afterwhich all that is necessary-.in order tocut o if the end ofthe tube, is to rotate it about half a turn. The use of two opposed blades, is preferable tothe use of one blade only, as the side pressures of the inclined edges balance or offset each other, and 40 also less rotation of the tube is required to cut off the end. Since the tube is guided by the trough in which it fits, while it is being rotated, the cuts made by the two blades meet each other when the tube has been turned far enough, thus making a clean cut in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tube. The finger is then placed in the recess 25 at the rear of the cutter to hold the caps in place in the tube as the latter is lifted from the channel.

The modified form of device shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9 is a hand tool. It has a handle 3i! with a transverse flange or yoke 3I at one end. The blade clamping plate 32 may be similar to the one previously described, and is held by a screw 33. A pair of pins 34 have a driving fit within properly spaced holes in the yoke 3|, the ends of said pins projecting sufficiently to permit the razor blade 35 to be slipped over the same in the same manner as previously described and the parts clamped together by means of the screw. The inner side of the yoke 3l is curved on the arc of a circle, as shown in Fig. 8 and has a transverse abutment 35 against which the tube ts as the cutter is being rotated by hand to out off the crimped end. In using the cutter it is held preferable* in the right hand with the thumb pressing the tube against the' cutter blade, the tube being rotated by the operators left hand. The provision of the lateral extension 36 and the correspondingly wide portion of the handle near the other end of the blade make it less difficult to operate the device so that the end of the cut meets the starting point.

Both devices are convenient and eicient and save considerable time as well as insuring more uniform and satisfactory results. After one edge of the blade has become dull, said blade may be unclamped and turned over and the other edge used. Old safety razor blades may be used as the cutting blades although new blades cr specially designed blades may, of course, be employed if desired.

The terms vertical, horizontal, and the ilike, as used in the description, are employed primarily in a relative sense and not intended as limitations since the devices may be used in various diiferent positions. Numerous changes may be made in the details of the structures Ldescribed herein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A cutter for cylindrical tubes, comprising a trough having an open top through which a tube may be inserted laterally, means for supporting said trough, a stop member at one end of said trough, clamping members mounted near said stop member, and a blade held immovably between said clamping members in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said trough, and projecting inwardly beyond the confines of the same, whereby an incision is made in said tube by the forced insertion thereof.

2. A cutter for a paper tube containing milk bottle caps and having a crimped-in end, comprising a support for said tube curved to fit part of the circular outline of the same, a stop plate spaced from the end of said support, a single flange connecting said stop plate and said support, and means for clamping a. stationary blade against said end in position to out off said crimped end when said tube is pressed sidewise against said support and rotated with said end against said stop plate, said stop plate having a recess near said crimped end to facilitate removal of said tube.

3. A cutter for milk bottle cap holding tubes each having a crimped-in end, comprising a support for the tube curved to t the same, a stop plate spaced from the end of said support, a single flange connecting said stop plate and said support, lateral projections on said end, blades positioned against said end and spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of said tube, and detachable means to clamp said blades, immovably in place.

4. A cutter for a cylindrical tube of thin material having a crimped-in end, comprising a substantially semi-cylindrical support for said tube, a stop plate therefore, oppositely extending flanges on the end of said curved support,

pins projecting from said flanges, thin perforatedblades supported by said pins and overlying the open end of said support, and clamping plates screwed to said fianges against said blades.

5. A cutter for paper tubes lled with discs crimped at one end to confine said discs, comprising a member curved to fit the tube, a flange on said member having a surface at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said tube, a detachable plate having a flat surface adjacent said first surface, projections on one of said surfaces received in recesses in the other surface, a safety razor blade between said surfaces, and securing means for detachably clamping said blade immovably in place between said flange and said plate, in place with its edge projecting within the boundary of said tube, to cut the wall thereof when said tube is pressed laterally against said Vcurved member and given a relative rotation with respect to said cutter.

6. A cutter for cylindrical tubes, comprising a trough having an open top through which a tube may be inserted laterally, means for supporting said trough, a stop member at one end of said trough, clamping members mounted near said stop member, and a pair of blades held immovably between said clamping members in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said trough, and projecting inwardly beyond the confines of the sa'me with their edges diverging to admit said tube when pressed sidewise into said trough, to make two incisions in said tube and to make a continuous cut when said tube is rotated.

LYNN L. SEYMOUR. 

